So my daily is a '93 Ford F-350 4x4 with the 460 big block. It's coming up on 200,000 miles here soon so I'm thinking of doing some preventative maintenance to make sure it lasts and doesn't give me any problems.

For preventative maintenance, I'm look at performing the following:

-new battery
-coolant flush
-new radiator hoses
-oil change with filter
-change trans oil
-change front/rear diff oil
-change transfer case oil
-new fuel filters
-new air filter
-new spark plug wires (spark plugs recently replaced >600 miles ago)
-new belts
-new thermostat
-full brake job/flush brake fluid
-lube/grease all bushings/joints/etc
(any other suggestions welcome)

That's just preventative stuff. Other items that need attention anyways:

-New tires (current tires are nearly bald)
-new wiper blades
-new headlight bulbs (getting dim)
-one reverse light it out, so both need to be replaced

Other than that, the truck has no issues. Always starts even when really cold. Runs like a champ. It is burning a 1qt of oil about every 600 miles, though. Compression averages 133psi per cylinder cold.

Short of an engine rebuild, what can I do to make sure it lasts as long as possible? Or what kind of stuff should be looking at replacing/checking?

Thanks for the input!

I would also replace the coolant lines to the heater, etc.
Also replace the belts and inspect the vacuum lines.

Put some 20w50 in that bitch! I assume since its a 93 its fuel injected? If so maybe some new injectors.

Bg 44k ?

I'd skip these unless your auto tranny fluid is brownish. In my experience with old trucks, they don't like you to mess with tranny fluid. Maybe a drain and tranny filter replacement at most.

-change trans oil
-change front/rear diff oil
-change transfer case oil

I used to just check gear oil for smell, color and levels on vehicles with that age and mileage.

Truck has a manual 5-speed box and manual transfer case, so that's why I was thinking on doing a full fluid flush.

20w50? Really? That's pretty damn thick for Colorado winters. I ran 20w50 in my RX-8 when I lived in Phoenix, and even there I would swap in 10w40 in the winter. I don't think I would want to go much thicker than that

I wouldn't do 20w50.

I ran 20w50 in my smallblock chevy but it was summer and the motor was built kinda loose! 10w40 should do!

That will be a good move then. Those old auto trannies hate change.

chickenwafer wrote:Truck has a manual 5-speed box and manual transfer case, so that's why I was thinking on doing a full fluid flush.

20w50? Really? That's pretty damn thick for Colorado winters. I ran 20w50 in my RX-8 when I lived in Phoenix, and even there I would swap in 10w40 in the winter. I don't think I would want to go much thicker than that

I just did a pan drop, filter change and replaced 4 qts on my 1997 Explorer auto transmission. The magnet in the bottom of the pan didn't look nearly as bad as the magnet in the bottom of my Protege pan with half the miles. I'm only assuming the transmission fluid was original (118,000 miles) in my Explorer. So far it has continued to run well. I am well aware of the issues associated with changing the fluid in high mileage autos. I think if you slowly change the fluid by doing several pan drops/filter changes, this slowly increases the detergent level of the fluid (ATF has a high level of detergents) and won't break up large amount of varnish and sludge right away which then clogs up the transmission and causes problems.

Replace the coolant with a 60% water, 40% coolant mix for better cooling performance. Splash in some Red Line Water Wetter for good measure too.

New radiator cap.

Check the wheel bearings.

Grease the caliper slider pins while you're doing the brake job. Use anti-seize on the back of the rotor hat to make sure it comes off the next time you want it to.

As far as the headlights getting dim- do bulbs get dim before they go out? I thought they just up and burnt out with no warning. If they really are dim, there might be added resistance in the wires (corrosion) causing them to dim. How are the headlight housing/lenses looking? Cloudy or hazy? I'm a big fan of the Silverstar Ultra bulbs.

Lenses are pretty cloudy. I was thinking of resurfacing them.

I kinda want to buy an HID headlight kit, not sure. I also want to change the mechanical clutch cooling fan to an electric fan as well.